It is
time for our annual Gospel Meeting, which takes place the third Sunday in June
each year. Bro. James Watkins will
be speaking in our meeting this year and Wally Kirby will be leading the
singing at each service. Hopefully you have been inviting friends and family to
attend the meeting this year. Some
of the men who live in Sylva NC area (members of the Woodland congregation),
told me they may try to come to the meeting one night. That is a five-hour drive one way! Now why did you say you could not be
here? I know Bro. Watkins and Bro.
Kirby will do an excellent job with their assignments. The question really is, what will we do
with our assignments. We certainly
need to plan on being here for every service. We need to try to bring someone with us. We need to be praying for two or three
individuals who need to come or who need to obey the gospel, or be
restored. If each of us would do
that, the results might just surprise us.
Do we still believe Romans 1:16? ÒFor I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.Ó
What about James 1:21? ÒWherefore
lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with
meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.Ó GodÕs word
implanted in your mind and responded to, can save your soul. Gospel meetings give us a wonderful
opportunity to invite people that might not come any other time. Make sure you take advantage of this
meeting and be present yourself, as well as try to bring others with you,
people that need to hear the gospel proclaimed, people who need to be
encouraged to do the right thing.
I
appreciate the opportunity I had this past week to go to North Carolina and
preach in a Gospel Meeting. The
congregation there has a lot of potential and it is a great group of people in
a beautiful area of the mountains.
I also wanted to mention that we need to encourage the two young ladies
(Paige and Elizabeth) who have responded to the invitation recently. They are to be commended for their
desire to correct whatever is amiss in their life and we need to do what we can
to help them.
THE CHOICE IS YOURS
What
do you want the Montrose church of Christ to be like? Let your imagination run
wild for a moment: friendliest church, most imposing worship services, best
evangelistic emphasis, most benevolent, best-taught Bible school, strongest
visitation program, most loving, best youth program, most generousÉthe choice
is yours, you know!
Of course, I am not talking about what doctrine we will believe, practice and teach; the Lord has already decided that for us. If we want to be the church of Christ, then obviously we must do what Christ said or we are not His church. What I am talking about is the way we apply that doctrine. That is what really determines what the Montrose congregation will be like, and that is one decision that is left up to the membership. Let me explain.
Who decides what the attendance at services will be on any given Sunday or Wednesday? The membership decides! Who decides mow much the church will spend on evangelism or benevolence? Someone say, ÒThe elders do,Ó or ÒThe men of the congregation do.Ó Wrong! Oh, yes, the elders (or in congregations without elders, the menÕs business meetings) decide where the money will go, but the membership decides how much will be spent, because if we donÕt give it, the elders or those responsible canÕt spend it. What about the atmosphere of our assemblies, who decides that? Why, the membership, of course! You canÕt have a friendly church without friendly members. You canÕt have a loving church without loving members. You canÕt have enthusiastic, spirited worship without members who want to worship God in a spirited and zealous fashion.
One final question: Who decides whether or not we are a growing church, a stagnant church, or a dying church? YouÕve begun to catch on, and youÕre rightÑyou do! Oh, yes, the leadership lays a major part. I have always believed, and I think the Bible clearly teaches, that the church cannot outgrow its leadership. Generally speaking, the members will not go where their leaders will not lead and thatÕs why many churches are stagnant, dying, or deadÑbecause their leaders offer little or no example of real leadership for the members to follow. As the Bible says, ÒÓWhere there is no vision, the people perishÓ (Proverbs 29:18).
But ultimately, it again falls on the members to decide whether the church grows, maintains the status quo (a nice way of saying it remains stagnant), or dies. Even if a church has dynamic, visionary, on-fire leadership, if it does not have zealous members who are willing to follow their lead and involves themselves in the work, then the battle is lost. It takes great leaders and great followers to build a great church.
To a degree the success or failure
of the local congregation is in YOUR
hands. YOU must decide how much
visiting will be done, how many folks will be invited to attend our services,
how much the Gospel will be shared in private conversations, and what kind of
influence the church will have in the community by your own personal demeanor
and example. Whether or not a local church grows will to a great degree, be
determined by these factors. So, you see, the choice is really yours!
What do you want this congregation to be like and what would it be like if everyone else attended, participated, fellowshipped, worshipped, gave, and worked just as YOU do? It is a sobering thought, worthy of serious soul-searching consideration.
OF CHRIST
53 LAKESIDE DR.
CARTHAGE, TN
JUNE 20-25TH.
SUNDAY:9:00 AM & 7:30 PM
MONDAY THRU FRIDAY: 7:30 PM
SPEAKER ON GBN
SINGING BEGINS
AT 7:00 PM
EACH EVENING
MONTROSE FAMILY NEWS
AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
June 20, 2010
WORSHIP----SUNDAY---9:00
AM
Co-Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. Robert
Hackett
Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . É. Larry Cole
Scriptures Reading.. 2 Cor. 2:12-17É. Glen Reece
Song Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . Wally Kirby
Opening Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harold Smith
LordÕs Supper-Preside: Mitchell Brooks
Serve: Jimmy Smith, Ricky Kirby
Brian Smith, Billy Halliburton
Closing Prayer......................... Tim Hommrich
GreeterÑ Billy & Karen Halliburton
GreeterÑ Jimmy & Melanie Smith
Count Offering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacky Carver, Sr.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaleb Bush
AM SermonÑ James Watkins preaching
PM SermonÑ James Watkins preaching
Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . É . . . Larry Cole
Song Leader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . É. Wally Kirby
Scripture Reading..2 Cor. 3:1-6É.. Glen Reece
Opening Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jimmy Smith
LordÕs Supper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jacky Carver, Sr..
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaleb Bush
Closing Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Larry Kemp
BIBLE STUDY WEDNESDAY---7:00 PM
AnnouncementÉ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Larry Cole
Song Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wally Kirby
First Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ricky Kirby.
Opening Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mitchell Brooks
Closing Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Roger Draper
Prepare Communion for June
Dianna D. & Vicki Russell
Note: If you are not able to fulfill your assignment listed above, please notify the coordinator so that he can find a replacement.
We are asking each family to bring items for the pantry to be used for needs in the community as they arise: Items for week: Bathroom Tissue
NURSING HOME: Lucille Smith,
Those on the sick list:
Donald Chaffin (Zion) Lou
GehrigÕs disease
Hoss WestÑSmith County
Health Care
Vaughn
Allen
John William LeonardÑspine problems
Francis KempÑSmith County Health Care
Wednesday. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Worship Sunday AM . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 100
Bible Study Sunday AM .. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Daily Bible Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 48
Worship Sunday PM . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
55
Offering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,362.00
Upcoming Events
Gospel Meeting with James
Watkins will be June 20-25th, 7:30 each evening. Singing begins at
7:00 PM
Several of us will be in
Knoxville June 27-July 2nd. for Bible Camp
VBS will be July 5th
Ð9th.
Jackson/Smith County Youth Camp is July 18th- 24th
VBS Speakers:
Adults Class:
MonÑMark West;
TuesÑJohn Anderson; WedÑAlan Judd; ThurÑJack Honeycutt; FriÑJohn Mabery
Teenage Class: MonÑEric Collins; TuesÑMitchell Burris; WedÑGlen Reece; ThursÑZac Cole; FriÑRonald Strong.
01
Psa. 116-120
02
Psa. 121-123
03
Psa. 124-126
04
Psa. 127-129
05
Psa. 130-132
06
Psa. 133-135
07
Psa. 136-138
08
Psa. 139-143
09 Psa. 144-146
10 Psa. 147-149
11
Psa. 150;Prov.1,2
12
Prov. 3-5
13
Prov. 6-8
14
Prov. 9-11
15
Prov. 12-16
16
Prov. 17-19
17
Prov. 20-22
18
Prov. 23-25
19 Prov. 26-28
20 Prov. 29-31
21 Eccle, 1-3
22
Eccle. 4-8
23
Eccle. 9-11
24
Eccle. 12;
S. of S. 1-2
25
S of Sol. 3-5
26
S of Sol. 6-8
27
Isaiah 1-3
28 Isa. 4-6
29
Isa. 7-11
30
Isa. 12-14
31 Isa. 15-17